Rep. Krayton Kerns, R-Laurel, (center) drove home from the Montana capitol one weekend in the 2011 legislative session to help a friend pregnancy test his cattle the old-fashioned, cheap way: by reaching into the rectum and feeling below for the uterus. Here, they brand a heifer whose mark had faded.

Before that, she was a state government, special projects and education reporter for Lee Newspapers of Montana.

In the fall of 2017, she co-taught an investigations class at the University of Montana School of Journalism with Professor Joe Eaton. It was a first-time collaboration with a professional partner, the Missoulian. They mentored undergraduate and graduate students as they analyzed why Montana has one of the highest rates of drug-exposed births and how the state failed by several measures to help pregnant women who used drugs.

In 2015, she was named an Pet Sofa Pet Stairs 4tier Dog Step Cushion Indoor Home Couch Bed Sofa (color Red) as part of a Houston Chronicle team that investigated the jail suicide of Sandra Bland after a questionable traffic stop. The reporting forced state regulators to change how jails screen inmates, leading to a drastic reduction in deaths. Other projects as a writer and videographer won Jayme top recognition in the Society of Professional Journalists Region 10 Mark of Excellence Awards for three consecutive years. Pet Sofa Removable and Washable Yurts Warm Kennel Pets Nest Brown Plaid Andosange that was named a national runner-up examined the questionable science and poor defense in a local “shaken baby” conviction. Her reporting caught the attention of the Montana Innocence Project, which successfully petitioned for exoneration. Wilkes was freed in the summer of 2018, although prosecutors say they might seek a new trial.